Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-08-23)

10 17 August 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

I

t’sgreatto seetraditionalanalogue

photographyin suchrudehealth.

However,thereis a weaklink.If it’s

to continuethrivingweneedbetter

filmscanners.Mostgadgetrygetsbetter,

cheaperandeasierto use,butscanner

technologyseemsto bein reverse.

IboughtmyNikonCoolscan 4000 ED

backin 2001.I waswritingmotoring

articlesandtakingpicturestoillustrate

themandwhilemagazinesstillwanted

transparencies,eventhen,newspapers

werebeginningtodemanddigitalshots.

TheCoolscanallowedmetosatisfyboth

requirementswhilstalsoprovidinga

backupof slideswhichmightbelost.

Thoughnotcheapat justovera grand,

I wasthrilledbythequality,detail,colour

reproductionanddynamicrangeof the

23MPscansproducedbyit. It didjustice

toanyemulsion,whetherKodachrome,

FujiVelvia,IlfordHP5orplainold

supermarketprintfilm,whilethe

dust-removalcapabilitiesof itsDigital

ICE(ImageCorrection& Enhancement)

softwareweremagical.Scanningwasn’t

quickbutfilmprocessorswouldhappily

supplya lo-resscanof allyourshotsat

modestcostfromwhichyoucouldselect

a fewframesperfilmtodoyourself.

Whatmightreplaceit?

I’mstillusingtheCoolscanandit’sas

goodasever.It requiresa bitof driver

jiggery-pokerytoworkwithmodern

operatingsystems,andtheFireWire

cablemeansyouhavetoconsideryour

computer’sconnectivitycarefully,but

I’mdreadingthedayit givesup.Because

there’snothingaroundtoreplaceit.

FlatbedEpsonscannersareallverywell

buttheydon’tquitedeliverthesharpness,

in myexperience.I knowa coupleof

photographerswithPlustekscannersbut

thecolourreproductiondoesn’tcompare,

andtheytellmethere’squitea bitof trial

anderrorinvolved.Therearealsooodles

of bargainbasementmodelsavailablebut

they’reprobablybestconsideredtoys

ratherthanserioustools.Asforthequality

of scans produced by minilabs they’re

reallytoohit-and-miss,andyoucan’trely

onthemasyouronlyscanningsource.

TheDigitalTransitionsCulturalHeritage

kit,whicheffectivelytakesphotosof film

usinga PhaseOnedigitalback,is excellent

butthehugepricetakesit beyondthe

reachof allbutlibrariesandarchives.

Nikon,whichstoppedmakingscanners

in 2010,knowsthere’sanissuehereand

doesmarketanattachmentyoucanuse

witha macrolenstotakephotosof your

film.Butit’suncomfortablyreminiscentof

thoserickety,old,extensiontube-based,

slide-copyingdevicesand,whilethe

resultsaren’tquiteasunpredictable,they

arenotasgoodasNikon’soldscanners.

I wantto beenthralledat theenchanting

wayin whichfilmrecordstheworld,not

depressedbythedrabsimulacrummost

reasonablypricedscannersinsultoureyes

within 2019.If wecouldcreatehigh-

qualityscanners 20 yearsagowhyis it so

difficultnow?Canit reallybeimpossibleto

marketonethat’sevenbetter,eveneasier

to use,andevenmore affordable than my

vintageCoolscan?

THE

VEWS

EXPRESSED

IN THIS COLUMN ARE NOT NECESSARILY THOSE OF AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER MAGA ZINE OR TI MEDIA LIMITED

Thereseemstobealackofacceptablefilm

scanners in 2019 that do justice to slides

View point

Jon Bentley

© JON BENTLEY

Jon’sscansfrom

his 2001 Coolscan

arestillgreatbut

hedreadstheday

it packs up

Doyouhavesomethingyou’dliketogetoffyourchest?Sendusyourthoughtsinaround

500 wordstotheaddressonpage 12 andwina year’sdigitalsubscriptiontoAP,worth£79.

JonBentleyis a TVproducerandpresenterbestknown

forTop Gear and Channel 5’s The Gadget Show

© CL AIRE GILLO

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